Elderly Man Dies in Eunice House Fire

A deadly house fire in Eunice claims the life of a 91 year old man and injures his daughter. It happened on North Third Street around 7:30 Friday morning.

Darrel Reed said his 91 year old grandfather, Alvin Reed, had a passion for life and enjoyed living with his daughter Alvonya Reed. Darrel's brother called him Friday morning and said there was an emergency at his aunt's house, so he rushed over.

He said, "I saw how everyone was looking at me. They knew who I was and I had a funny feeling. I tried to get closer to the house but my mom was holding me back."

Smoke was pouring out of the home and it was fully engulfed in flames. Alvonya made it out alive, but Alvin died on the back porch while trying to escape. Neighbor Shawn Douget said Alvonya ran outside screaming for help.

Douget said, "she said she tried to help him, and she just couldn't do it."

Officials are still investigating what caused the fire, but family members believe a space heater in Alvin's room sparked the flames. It took about four hours for firefighters to put out the fire. Darrel said even though he wishes his grandfather didn't die like this, at least he lived a good life.

"Something's you have no control over," he explained. "He was happy."

Alvonya suffered minor burns. The State Fire Marshal will be back on the scene Monday to try to pinpoint the cause of the flames. Officials said there were no working smoke detectors in the home.